Obamian View of Islam and the Crusades

The beginning of the 21st century has marked the rise of Islam in its most violent form. Since the tragedy of 9/11, Muslims and Christians alike have become the victims of Islam. As a fog of justifications and excuses lingers over the western hemisphere’s view of terrorism, the dawn of a new era of Islamization in the East has already begun. Before long, the West is sure to be woken up from her deep sleep to face the horror of the reality of terrorism today that she has been denying for quite some time. Perhaps the worst offense of this denial is in the presentation of arguments against the truth that are intended to borrow time and offset the focus from the real issue at hand.

The Islamic world has plunged itself into a war that could very possibly have devastating consequences for the rest of the world. What the West has failed to realize is that suppressing the truth about Islam will help neither the western world as a whole, nor will it help peaceful Muslims around the world. It is truly only a matter of time before Islam emerges as “the only acceptable religion in the world.” A recent report by Pakistani national news took pride in the aftermath of a deadly attack on the offices of French magazine, Charlie Hebdo, and reported that by 2050 Muslims will make up 75% of the total European population. Numerous studies prove that “the Muslim population in England and Wales has nearly doubled in 10 years,” and France currently hosts the majority of Europe’s Muslims.

In the United States, the number of Muslims has also doubled in the last 10 years and has been coupled with unprecedented efforts to educate the American people about Islam by setting up special programs and Islamic centers in some of the most prestigious universities in America. In some cases, this has helped Islamists in recruiting men and women from top American schools to engage in fighting Jihad either in Syria, Iraq, or other places in the Middle East. In some cases these have even led to the carrying out of “one wolf” attacks within the United States, which so far have thankfully been thwarted by our security agencies.

Under President Obama’s watch, the new face of Islam has emerged stronger and more unassailable than ever. Al-Shabab in Somalia, and Boko Haram in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad have blossomed and become more powerful than ever. Al-Qaeda, ISIS (ISIL) and its affiliates continue to invade territories in the name of Islam, slaughtering all religious minorities in the invaded area.

Today these terrorists are no longer limited to Afghanistan and Pakistan as in the past, but are thriving in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and parts of Algeria and Africa. According to Human Rights Watch, the year of 2014 was one of the worst years in human history for basic human rights around the globe.

Despite this, President Obama is insisting on promoting Islam as only a religion of peace, maintaining the absolutely misguided opinion that the Islamic extremists are fundamentally un-Islamic in nature, while calling upon Christians for self-examination rather than pointing fingers at organizations such as ISIS. The Obama administration would even compare ISIS’ actions to the Crusades in an effort to classify the actions of ISIS as a mere misinterpretation of the true teachings of Islam. Unfortunately, the misunderstanding lies not on the side of ISIS or its affiliates, but rather with the Obamian view of extremists and the historical nature of the Crusades.

Majority of the scholarly research indicates that the first crusade in 1093 began after a long period of Islamic brutality and land grabbing, and by the time it began two-thirds of the Christian world had been invaded by Islamic armies in attacks characterized by church burnings, murder, enslavement, and the forced conversion of Christians. If it were not for the Crusades, we may very well have lost all of Europe to the Islamic armies with the primary goal of making the existing world an Islamic empire. This is not Christian or Western propaganda meant to justify the often despicable acts of the Crusades, but it is basic Islamic history 101, which proudly talks of this time as a period of victories bestowed upon the Islamic armies by Allah.

The Obamian view of the Crusades’ comparability to ISIS hands the Islamists a readymade excuse to take revenge against worldwide Christians as penance for the lost battles of the Crusades. In fact, Islamic history claims that the first Crusade was launched 800 years after the first Christian cities were invaded by Islamic armies, including the invasion and takeover of Jerusalem, Egypt, Italy, Spain, France, and the Christian capital of Constantinople.

Islamic scholars divide these successes of Jihad into three periods. The first was led by the founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad himself, and during this period Muhammad won Islam’s most holy cities of Mecca and Medina to Islam. The second period was led by Muhammad’s successors (caliphs), which brought most of the world into the submission of Islam, but left Europe unconquered. The third and final period is today’s ongoing struggle to bring the West under the submission and worldwide embrace of Islam.

Some scholars believe that the Obamian view is dangerous and needs to be fundamentally evaluated against the truths of seventh century Islam and the long list of countries that once enjoyed freedom of religion and speech, but have lost their identities to Islam once the black banner of Islam that is today carried by ISIS was lifted up.

However, I believe that there is true power in democracy and truth. Today, the world needs freedom to think and freedom to express without fear but within the boundaries of mutual respect and honor for others. Muslims are victims of Islamists as much as Christians or any other group. Therefore, we must come to a clear understanding that unless we work together and condemn what is evil as evil we will never hold on to the freedom we exercise in some privileged societies.

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Dr. A. R. Javed

Dr. A. R. Javed is on faculty of New York School of the Bible, offering and heading the department of Missions and Understanding Islam. He is a lecturer at Davis College's NYC site and regularly gives lectures on Islam, Missions, Christian Theology nationally and internationally.